Dough-handling machinery.



P. H. VAN HOUTEN.

DOUGH HANDLING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.20, 191s.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914;

,,a,1111mm n 21 W MW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK I'I. VAN HOUTEN, OF FISHKILL-ON-THE-H'UDSON. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TODUTCHESS TOOL GOM?ANY, 0F FISHlZILL-ON-THE-IEIUDSON, NEW YORK, A. COR-PORATION OF NEW YORK.

DOUGH-HANDLING MACHINERY.

1,11 nee-i.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1 1.9.14.

Application filed I ebruary 20, 1913. Serial No. 749.672.

1 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I. l nann ll. VAN I'IOUTEN,a citizen of the United States, and resident of Fishkill-on-the'lludson,in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful improvements in Douglrll'aiuhing Machinery; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same,

reference being had to the accompanying.

drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the figures andletters of reference marked thereon This invention relates to doughhandling machinery and is particularly designed as an improvement uponapparatus heretofore used for removing the measured portions or lumps ofdough delivered from a dividing or balling machine, and conveying thesame to a proofing cabinet. Apparatus designed for performing thisfunction as heretofore used has been defective in that under certaincircumstances the removal of the delivered lumps or portions of doughwas not soiliciently certain and quick enough to prevent adjacentorsucceeding portions from contacting and coalescing and thereby causingeither a complete interruption in the operation, or delivering portionsof dough of impractical size.

in accordance with the present invention provision is made whereby thelumps of dough delivered from the dividing or balling machine, are eachseparately advanced at once to the conveying apparatus and presentedthereto in a positive manner so as to prevent any lagging or retardationin the movement of the several individual lumps from any causewhatsoever.

The invention consists in certain novel details of construction andcmnbinations and arrangei'nents of parts, all as will be now describedand pointed out particularly in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation ofan apparatus embodying the present improvements, certain of theunderlying parts being shown in dotted lines, and the power mechanismomitted. Fig. 2 is a detail elevation looking at the rear side of thelower portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference in both figures indicate the same parts.

The conveying apparal us. generally speaking, embodies two endless beltsof canvas or other suitable material, and having parallel proximatereaches A and B, said belts being set in an inclined position andadapted to elevate the dough from the point where it is delivered fromthe divider or balling machine up to a point where it may pass into theproofing cabinet. (lonveuicntly. the upper belt A passes around a roller(6 at the lower end and around a roller a at the up per end, while thebelt 13 passes around similar rollers 25 at the lower and I) at theupper end. The rollers Z) and b are located at lower levels than thecompanion rollers 11, a and the belt 13 after passing around the roller6 preferably extends horizontally, or substantially horizontally, to andaround a roller C, thereby forming a reach on which the dough may beadvanced laterally into the proofing cabinet or into position fordelivery thereto. To make the arrangement more compact. the return reachof the belt B is preferably deflected over a roller D which latter mayalso assist in driving the belt. as will be presently explained.

The rollers a, Z) and l) are preferably belt driving rollers and,convenici'itly, are connected by intermeshiug gear wheels in (heated bythe dotted lines (5 in Fig. 1, the shaft of one of said rollers. as, forexample, the roller 6, being provided with a belt pulley or pulleys Ireceiving motion from any suitable source of power. It will beunderstood that the conveying apparatus operates by gripping andcarrying the lumps of dough between the proximate parallel reaches ofthe belt, and it is preferred that these reaches of the belt shalltravel through a trough-like supporting and guiding structure F, theupper end of which is supported by the shaft of the roller (1' or thebearings for that shaft, and the lower end by the shaft or bearings ofthe shaft 6, whereby the supporting trough is kept in accurate alinementwith the carrying reach of the belt B.

The measured lumps of dough are delivered from the divider or ballingmachine through a chute or trough H at a. point Where they may be movedinto the bight between the conveyer belts at the entrance end. Formoving the individual lumps of dough so that they will be inevitably andpromptly gripped by the belts and carried away from the path offollowing lumps, an oscillatory feeder board I is pivotally mounted inproximity to the lower end of the belts and in a position below andoutside of lumps of dough dropping from the trough H. The oscillatoryfeeder board is mechanically driven or oscillated at a speedsufficiently rapid to insure the pushing of each succeed ing lump ofdough into the bight between the belts before a following lump can comein contact therewith. The driving mechanism conveniently takes the formof a crank or eccentric L on the shaft of the roller a, with theconnecting rod or link l extending therefrom to a crank arm Z on theshaft of the oscillatory board. With the arrangement described, thelumps of dough dropping from the trough or chute H down in front of thefeeder board and into contact with the belt 13, are instantly pushed upby the feeder board into the bight between the belts where they aregripped and moved off up the channel between the proximate faces of thebelts. At the upper end of the apparatus the lumps of dough travel outon the horizontal reach of the belt B and are delivered from the rollerC to the proofing cabinet.

Conveniently, the rollers at the upper end of the conveyer may all bejournaled in a bracket support such as indicated at M, fastened in placeon the ceiling of the bakery, and the rollers at the lower end may beconveniently journaled in standards N on the floor of the bakery.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

1. A dough handling apparatus embodying endless belts havingsubstantially parallel inclined reaches forming a passage in which thedough is gripped and carried by the belts and from which the dough isdelivered at the upper end, and an oscillatory feeder board spaced fromone of the belts, and movable toward and from the entrance openingbetween the belts at the lower end for forcing the lumps of dough intothe bight between the belts at the entrance end, with means foroscillating said board, and means for feeding the lumps of dough inthrough the space between the board and one of the belts.

2. A dough handling apparatus embodying endless belts, havingsubstantially parallel inclined reaches forming a passage in which thedough is gripped and carried by the belts, one of said belts extendingat both ends a greater distance than the other, thereby forming at thedischarge end a carrier for the dough after it is released from betweenthe belts and at the entrance end, a receiver for the dough before it isgripped between the belts, an oscillatory feeder board spaced from theshorter belt, movable over the extended belt toward and from theentrance opening between the belts at the lower end and forming withsaid extension a trough-like receptacle for the dough, and means forfeeding the dough through the space between the shorter belt and board.

3. In dough handling apparatus, the combination with the inclined beltshaving parallel proximate reaches, rollers around which said. belts areguided, the guide rollers ror the lower belt being located beyond theguide rollers for the upper belt at both ends, a fixed trough in whichthe proximate reaches of the belts travel, an oscillatory feeder boardspaced from the shorter belt for forcing the dough into the bightbetween the belts at the entrance end, and driving mechanismintermediate said 0s cillatory feeder board and the guide roller for oneof the belts and means for feeding the dough in through the spacebetween the board and shorter belt.

FRANK H. VAN HOUTEN.

Witnesses 2 J. E. VAN HOUTEN, ANNA F. Dnvnnnanx.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. G.

